To Clint Taylor, the shredded Styrofoam coating a blue mat in the DoSeum workshop after each Little Maker workshop illustrates precisely what the maker movement is all about.

The white stuff flies as tiny tots get to work, pounding wooden golf tees into and using metal files to saw away at chunks of Styrofoam. It is, hands down, the most popular activity in the workshops, a fairly new addition to the DoSeum’s programming. A lot of youngsters walk out of the workshop with Styrofoam clinging to their hair and clothes.

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“I like that one because it really drives that sense of agency,” said Taylor, who is a discovery leader in the Innovation Station Workshop on the second floor of the children’s museum. “The kid is the agent of change. They’re completely molding that the way they want to. They have complete power over that Styrofoam, whereas, with Legos, the kids have power, but they don’t have complete power. They can’t change the shape of the Lego.”

The idea behind maker education programs is to give children the opportunity and the tools to tinker and invent, fostering an independent spirit and a sense of agency.

“The heart of the maker movement is understanding what we can do in our everyday life that will better our future,” said Suzy Rios, programs administration director. Maker education, she said. “is about the process and the learning. They get to create, design, explore and engineer.”

Most classes are aimed at youngsters who are older than the typical DoSeum visitor, Taylor said.

“The whole maker movement isn’t target at 6-to-10-year-olds, which is our original (program),” he said. “So we were already pushing it there. And now, doing 1-to-5-year-olds, we’ve got to be one of the few in the country giving that really young age group maker empowerment.”

The 6- to-10-year-olds usually focus on a single project in each session, and it usually ties in with an exhibit. The DoSeum is showing “Science Fiction, Science Future,” so one group built cyborg limbs for themselves. They often work with small parts, 3-D printers and the occasional power tool.

“Because of the tools that we were using and the attention that was required — it’s a one hour program where you’re focused — it wasn’t developmentally appropriate to these (younger) kids,” said Taylor, who has been at the museum for about 18 months. “But we also wanted to get them this maker experience.”

Part of that desire was driven by parent demand, said Suzy Rios, who works with the museum’s education programs.

“It was truly based on the needs of our guests,” she said.

Taylor worked with Gladys Hernandez, who also leads maker sessions, and Cheryl Viera, who leads early childhood education programs, to develop the offerings for the under-6 set.

“For two months, we brainstormed ideas and traded knowledge bases — (Viera) having the knowledge base of what was developmentally appropriate for these kids and us talking about the maker cores that we want to keep here,” Taylor said.

The sessions, which began in October, run for about 30 minutes and are self-directed, allowing the youngsters to work with whatever grabs their attention for as long as they like. There has been some trial-and-error on that score.

“I bought some oversized bolts — real bolts, that you would actually use in construction — nuts and bolts and washers, and all this stuff that I thought was going to be so fun,” Taylor said. “And it’s too hard (for small children) to turn. That’s the only one that has been a disappointment for us, so we don’t bring that out any more. Otherwise, the kids have fun.”

On a recent rainy Wednesday morning, he and Ryan Vasquez set up the workshop. They laid blue mats on the floor and pulled out bins filled with materials that were little-finger-friendly. One area was outfitted with ramps and a few cars, as well as soft, over-sized blocks; another included dowel-like pieces that snapped together with magnets and small balls; and the third was that ever-popular spot with the Styrofoam. The tables in the room also had objects that the little ones could use, including plastic pieces they could use to fashion robot figures.

Within minutes of Taylor’s announcement over the public address system that a Little Makers workshop was starting, Samantha McCall walked in with her 3-year-old daughter Evelyn. The little girl likes to build and take things apart, so Little Makers was right up her alley, her mom said.

Evelyn’s sweet-faced baby brother Sterling spent the class snuggled into a sling: “He’s just rolling over now, and not even crawling, so he’s just along for the ride with his big sister,” McCall said.

Evelyn spent part of her time building with Lisa Shay’s children, 4-year-old Rhodes and 2-year-old Arden. When the tower they were building rose beyond the reach of Evelyn, Rhodes gently took one last piece from her and reached to finish it. Then Arden gleefully knocked the structure down.

The three children were first-time Little Makers, but their moms said they would be returning. And Taylor has begun to recognize some children who are becoming regulars.

He’s hoping he’ll see them after they outgrow Little Makers, too.

“I want them to come to the Maker Workshop once they turn 6, and, from there, go and make things,” he said.

Little Maker workshops aimed at ages 1 to 5 take place at 11 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the DoSeum, 2800 Broadway. They are included in the $12 admission price; $11 when purchased at thedoseum.org. Call 210-212-4453 for more information.